Vortex
by ConvictionSC
Summary: Arcturus station hasn't reported in for almost 2 days. Sent in by the Alliance's top officials to investigate, the N6s find their graduating mission turn into Hell literally. Grotesque monsters are all they find roaming the station, with the exception being scientist Isaac Clarke. Will they make it out alive? Read chapter 1 for instructions on submitting your own OC!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So yes, I know what you're thinking. "Hey, aren't you supposed to be studying for your O levels?! What are you doing here posting another new story?!" Oh well. I was getting a _little_ bit bored of Colburn and co (don't worry, I'm not abandoning Apotheosis). But let's cut to the chase, shall we?**

**Just in case you haven't realised, this IS a crossover between Mass Effect and Dead Space. BUT, it's entirely AU. I assure you, everything's gonna be as original as how dead a piece of fried chicken can be.**

**Here's a what you need to do for your OC submission:**

**In your review, submit the name/age/gender/nationality/appearance/class/weapons/personality of your OC, as you should. Defining character flaws/qualities are also very much appreciated, so that I at least have a guide to shape that particular character. You can also give a background story for your OC if you would like. But PLEASE, PLEASE, don't give a heroic background that's ten pages long. I've seen enough to last me ten lifetimes.**

**Another criteria is that your characters have to be human. Turians, Salarians and the likes are also accepted, but be prepared to only see them in a later part of the story (which shouldn't be surprising, considering that the leads are N6s, after all).**

**I'm also looking forward to having a good mix of both female and male characters. It's alright if you submit more than one character. But of course, I can't guarantee that ALL submissions will be part of the main cast. Some will be key 'passerbys' and play an integral role in the story. Saying this, I also want to caution that not everyone has to be a protagonist. 'Masterminds' are also very much welcome! But to prevent any possible spoilers, I suggest you PM me if you wish to submit an antagonist.**

**In sum up, OCs of ALL sorts are definitely accepted, but just don't expect yours to definitely appear in the first chapter or as a lead.**

**Note: Armageddon Coconut and iBayne, let me know if you guys want Desmont and Napier to be in this, or if you want new characters for this new story.**

**Ps: Next chapter of Apotheosis will be posted tomorrow.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: If you still wish to submit new characters, then go for it. I'm still accepting until I say otherwise!**

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Prologue: Recruitment drive.

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-Presidium Commons, Citadel-

_Warren_

Staff Commander Eric Warren was just about to enjoy lunch with his fiancee when his Omni-tool beeped. Shooting an apologetic towards her, he then quickly averted his gaze back to the glowing object on his arm.

_David Anderson: I'd like a word with you. Come to Ambassador Udina's office right away._

_Eric Warren: Can it wait?_

_David Anderson: No._

The blonde haired man raised his head to meet his fiancee's amber eyes with his green ones. But instead of seeing her beautiful features, his gaze fell squarely on top of her head as she took out a credit chit out.

"I-"

"It's okay, I know." she said understandably. They had experienced this too many times. "I can take care of things here."

He gave her a weak smile. "I promise, I'll make it up to you. Steak for dinner tonight?"

She gave him a peck on the lips. "Sounds great."

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_Warren_

"Arcturus station hasn't reported in for almost forty-eight hours. They haven't responded to our hails either. The thing is, no distress call was made." Admiral Steven Hackett said. "Therefore, I'm sending a taskforce there to check out what's happened."

"And you, Commander, will be leading this taskforce." Anderson added.

Warren grimaced at the plan. "And who am I supposed to lead exactly?"

"A group of N6s in training. This trip to Arcturus will be their final mission. They're getting the insignia as soon as they come back in one piece. I've already appointed a second-in-command for you." Hackett said.

As if right on cue, a browned haired, blue-eyed man entered the office. "Staff Commander Eric Warren, meet Lieutenant Commander Charles Foster Kane." Anderson introduced.

"Nice to meet you," Kane said, as both men shook hands. "it's an honour." His accent was obviously English.

"But why not assign the job to the N7s? Aren't they the elites of the Alliance?" Warren asked.

"The N7s are currently preparing for the impending Reaper invasion -which, if what Commander Shepard says is true- they're too important to be risked."

_Which means we're expendable,_ Warren retorted inwardly.

"Well, gentleman, don't let me down. You leave for Arcturus in thirty-six hours. I await your good news." Hackett said, before his blue holographic form disappeared.

Warren inwardly sighed. He would have to take another rain check for dinner.

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_Charles_

They had spent five hours just merely _browsing_ through the profiles of the various N6s.

"Hey, look at this." Warren said as he tossed the English infiltrator a datapad. "Name's Michael Quinn. Records state he's a darn good vanguard, but he's got a bit of an attitude problem. What do you think of him?"

"Hmm... Biotics will come in handy..." Charles noted.

"I'm a sentinel myself... But nothing beats the brute force of vanguards." Warren agreed.

Charles noticed Warren stealing a glance at the clock on the wall.

_He must have something on._

"Hey, listen," Charles said. "Since we're about done here, why don't you leave first? I can manage things here on my own. I'll take care of Michael Quinn."

Warren laughed. "Nothing escapes your eyes, eh?" He shot the infiltrator a look of appreciation. "Thanks."

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_Quinn_

The blonde Irish-American vanguard was practising a few old moves in the ring when the English chap came along. What was his name again? Charles Foster Kane?

"And why would I make your life easier? You're my superior officer, right? Then it's your job to keep me in line." Quinn challenged.

"You look experienced at this whole wrestling thing." Kane commented. The vanguard frowned at the irrelevant remark.

_What's this guy up to?_

"I'll make you a deal." Kane said. "We'll bring this into the ring. Two out of three wins. Loser has to listen to the winner for the whole duration of the mission. You game?"

Quinn smirked at the lanky Commander. "_You? Fight me?_ " While Kane was taller, the blonde was definitely the heavy-weight.

"Why, you scared? Think you can beat me without your biotics?" the English taunted.

"Bring it on."

**A/N: Alright, that's it for the first official chapter, considering there were only 2 submissions. Remember, the more the merrier! Bring on the OCs!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Woohoo. Glad to see the submissions rolling in! Keep them coming! Now, you might be sceptical, thinking "Seriously? How are you going to squeeze them all?" Well let me tell you something: _I can_. Just not all at the same time. For those of you that don't have your characters appearing right now, don't despair or anything. ._. They _will_ appear, though it's going to be in the later part of the story. And _they will play a significant part_. You have my word on that.**

**On another note, please feel free to point out anything unsatisfying about my writing. I'm still struggling to improve on it. It's really bad.**

**Keep the submissions rolling in!**

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Prologue: Take off.

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_Warren_

The McKenzie Steakhouse was crowded, as always. It wasn't surprising, considering it was the best damn steakhouse on the whole Citadel. Even though it was already nine at night, the place was still bustling with activity.

Making his way to a waving Tricia, Eric sucked in a deep breath.

_How am I going to tell her?_

It was never an easy task, telling his fiancee whenever he had to leave for a mission. Eric suspected that the mission wouldn't be as simple as a scouting one as Hackett had claimed. What the Admiral had proven, was that they were expendable - that _he_ was expendable. It felt ominous.

And he didn't like it. But the Commander sure as Hell wasn't going to tell his fiancee. It would only make her worry more.

As he approached the table, Eric saw not one, but two untouched plates of food.

_She hasn't eaten,_ he noticed. It wasn't the first time she waited for him. Despite the guilt that accompanied when he saw her wait for him, he hoped it wouldn't be the last either - for the right reasons.

"Hey," she greeted. "what took you so long?"

"Sorry, I was held up." he replied as he seated himself. Without another word, both started digging in. It was a ritual the couple had long accustomed to - she would wait for him to finally arrive, and then dine together in silence. However, the hunger that had been nagging at the sentinel mysteriously disappeared.

He knew why.

He masterfully cut off a piece of his steak, but instead of sending the beef into his mouth, Warren toyed with the fork instead, twirling it around with his fingers.

"Eric?" Tricia asked in concern. "Why aren't you eating?"

His green eyes found it difficult to meet her amber ones. Eric decided to simply tell her the truth. He couldn't delay it any longer. He never - and couldn't - keep anything from her. The blonde set down his fork and knife, and reached for the glass of wine. He took a large gulp of the dark red liquid.

Alcohol always helped.

And so he began his recount of what had happened in the past few hours. By the time he was finished, the bottle of cabernet was almost empty, but the slabs of meat were still left mostly untouched.

"When are you leaving?" she asked.

"The day after."

Tricia mustered a deep breath. "Don't go." she said, in a barely audible whisper.

Eric couldn't believe what he had heard. "_What?_ "

"Don't go." she repeated.

"Tricia-"

"Resign if you have to. I don't care." He tried to interrupt, but she was on a roll. "I almost lost you back on Elysium, when those Batarians attacked. I'll never forget those nights when I prayed for you to come back in one piece. I promised myself I'll never let that happen ever again if I could help it."

"But I came back, didn't I?"

"Yeah, _barely._ I'm not taking my chances, Eric. I was once an Alliance soldier too." she reminded him. "You of all should know why I applied for a transfer to a desk job after you came back. Waiting for someone you love is worse than Hell itself, and I'm not going to allow anyone that loves me to experience that as well."

"Tricia, _please_." Eric pleaded. "You know I can't just drop out of it."

"I don't care." she insisted. "It's either the mission, or me. You have to give up one of us. If I'm going to lose you, then I'd rather it be now than later, on my terms."

He didn't reply. But Eric knew that she understood him well enough to know his unspoken decision.

"So be it." she declared, her voice obviously saturated with disappointment. Eric watched as his fiancee removed her engagement ring, placed it on the table, stood up, and left - all without a word. He felt tempted to give chase, but he didn't. It would merely delay the inevitable.

The blonde swirled what remained of the wine in his glass, and gulped all of it down.

_Man up, Eric Warren_, he chided himself. _You have a space station to visit._

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_Quinn_

Michael Quinn smiled to himself as he eyed his would-be squadmates filter into the docking area of the SSV Chicago.

His blue eyes glinted with amusement as he took in the sight of the many fellow female N6s. As if his hands had minds of their own, they picked at the spiked fringe of his dirty blonde hair. The Irish-American's mind was running at about a million lightyears per second, thinking of the various conversations he would have with them. Oh, how he would charm those women with his irresistible-

"Hey, hey! Snap out of it!" said Kane, almost shouting. "What the heck were you thinking about?"

The vanguard gave his second-in-command a cheeky grin. "Nothing. Just... _checking out the scenery._"

"Uh huh, yeah, that is _so_ convincing." the infiltrator said sarcastically. "Oh and by the way, you can forget about getting your dirty paws on them."

"Since when were you the boss of me?"

"Since that day when you got your sorry ass whopped in the ring by yours truly!" the English retorted smugly.

Their friendly chatter was interrupted by a loud rumble of laughter. They turned their heads to the source, only to find a burly six-feet-five man with a pretty formidable beard.

_Jesus Christ, is that a caveman?_

"Who's the loud-mouth?" Michael asked, annoyed.

"Hmm, let's see..." Kane said, scrolling through the datapad in his hand. "His name is Alastair McLavry, but everyone calls him 'Bear'."

The vanguard scoffed.

_Why not King-kong?_

"He's Scottish," Kane continued.

"Yeah, and I'd bet he loves his haggis."

Kane scowled. "Why do you hate him so much?"

Michael was interrupted before he could reply.

"Time to leave, let's go! Chop chop!" a light blonde haired man shouted. The man had bright, piercing green eyes, and was slightly shorter, around five-feet-ten.

"Who's this guy?" the biotic questioned, irritated.

"Your CO. Come on, let's move."

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-Mess Hall, SSV Chicago-

_Warren_

The Staff Commander's eyes darted back and forth every so often, trying to figure out the soldiers under his command. He had already met most of the squad, but there were two he hadn't had a chance to truly interact with.

First, there was Casey Nguyen, a Vietnamese-American adept. The petite five-feet tall woman was only twenty-two years old, but yet was already a decorated soldier. Her file had stated her as the one of the best graduates the Jon Grissom Academy had to offer. Her short stature definitely wasn't intimidating, but he knew better. Underestimating her combat prowess would be an incredibly stupid thing to do.

Another was Lieutenant Soshannah Avital Meron, an engineer of Israeli descent. Her tan complexion, hazel eyes, short and wavy dark blonde hair, coupled with freckles, didn't make her look like much of a menace, but that was the absolute opposite of reality.

Both women were excellent soldiers, there was no doubt about that. But what worried him, was their shared lone-wolf personality. Nether had talked to anyone as far as Eric could tell. Teamwork was crucial. He couldn't have them hesitating to save one another in times of need. Both of them also looked as if they had something to prove - another recipe for disaster in times of crisis.

He would have to do something about it.

He stood up from his seat.

"Alright!" he piped up. "Gather at the briefing room in five!"

**A/N: I hope this is long enough for you folks. And just in case if you've never read my other works before, everyone's POV will be done through, though some will be more often than others.**

**Leave a review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Well, hello there. I'd spent the whole of yesterday reading up on the various weapons (I haven't touched ME in like, months, so I pretty much forgot everything), hence the delay. Anyway, glad to see you guys enjoying it so far. :) **

**Note: Due to my O levels, I'll be on hiatus from 18 October to 8 November, so I'll try to churn out as many chapters as I can, depending on how much free time my schedule allows. Follow me at Conviction_SC on twitter for unofficial updates on all my stories that aren't announced here. Visit my profile for the url.**

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First encounter.

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_Charles_

"The entire Alliance parliament as well as the Prime Minister is on the station. Find them, and bring them back to safety. Everyone is counting on you guys. Don't let us down. Hackett out."

Everyone watched as the the image of the Admiral's face fade. The briefing with Hackett was anything but useful. A waste of time in fact, for the English. Charles watched as the rest of the squad exit the briefing room, leaving him alone with Warren.

"So, what do you think of it?" the blonde asked, taking a sip of water from his glass.

"About what? Hackett or Meron and Nguyen?"

"_Both._"

"Well..." the infiltrator began, "what Hackett said worries me. If even he doesn't know what happened on Arcturus, I doubt anyone else does. As for those girls, I'm not exactly getting a friendly vibe off them. It's going to be hard to synchronise the whole squad."

Warren simply nodded in agreement, index finger tracing the rim of the glass.

"Well? What do _you_ think?" Charles asked.

The sentinel thought for a bit. "Tell the squad to each pack two days' worth of supplies."

"Why?"

"Arcturus Station is five kilometres wide in diameter, with five separate levels. That's a total of twenty-five kilometres that we have to search on foot for. Like what Hackett said, anything that's happened on Arcturus has to be big, _real big_. If we get isolated on the station, at least we won't starve to death while looking for a way out."

"Understood."

As Charles walked towards the exit, he found Warren's eyes a little dull. Those green eyes weren't as bright as he had last seen them.

"Commander? Is everything alright?" he asked, voice laced with concern.

"Yeah, I just... didn't get enough sleep, that's all."

"Why don't you get some rest? There's still ten hours until we reach the station." Charles suggested.

"Will do. Tell the others to do the same."

"Aye aye."

The infiltrator had just taken another two steps before the sentinel called for him again.

"And Charles?"

"Yeah?" he replied, looking back again.

The Staff Commander flashed an appreciative smile.

"You can call me Eric."

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_Casey_

Casey Nguyen was enjoying her solitude just fine - until an annoying blonde by the name of Michael Quinn came along. He was like an annoying fly, buzzing about incessantly. She wished he was really a fly, because then she would be able to squash him and end the misery once and for all.

But no - he just _had_ to be her squadmate.

"Do you like banh mi?" he asked. "Because I do. I'm from Boston, and there's this really nice place that sells really good banh mi. Those were the best sandwiches-"

"Would you just shut up?" Casey finally interrupted in irritation. At first, she had decided to simply ignore the guy, thinking that he would get the hint and eventually stop talking and leave her alone. However, the blonde man had continued to blabber on, obviously trying to impress her with his 'passion and love' for Vietnamese culture - or at least that was what he had said. But she couldn't take it any longer. If she had to listen to one more-

"Casey, can I have a word with you?" a voiced asked. She looked up from the book laying on her lap, to find the squad leader, Eric Warren smiling at her.

"Of course." she said, almost smiling. Although she never really was a people-person, Casey had never been more happy to see a friendly face.

She saw Warren glare at Quinn, hinting for him to leave.

"Uh, yeah..." the vanguard mumbled. "nice chatting with ya. Gotta go."

The adept heaved a sigh of relief as soon as the Irish-American left. The sentinel took a seat beside her.

"Thanks," she said. "he was really starting to piss me off."

"No problem." he replied. "But you better get used to it, though. You're going to face him for God-knows how long."

Casey turned her attention back to her novel. She wasn't a sociable person to begin with. Casey's parents died when she was two. She was raised in an orphanage until she was five, when she started showing signs of a predisposition for biotics, after which she was sent to the Jon Grissom Academy.

"So..." Warren began. "I've heard you were the top student when you graduated from Grissom Academy."

She ignored him.

"Your teachers say you were talented, one of the best they'd had in decades, even. But they also said that you were a loner, partly due to your L2 implants. You can't feel, can you?"

She turned to look at him again, this time staring hard at him with her stormy grey eyes. "What are you trying to do, digging through my file like that?" She didn't like people browsing through her history, especially her... _problem._

Although the L2 implants allowed her biotics to spike higher than other L3s, it wasn't without a cost. She'd lost the sense of touch in her arms - she could still move them, but she would never know if the object she was holding was hot or cold, sharp or blunt. There would be times when she had accidentally cut or scrape her arm, but would only realise it after somebody had told her about it.

"I'm not trying to do anything." Warren said. "I'm just trying to tell you that you can't be the lonewolf you always were anymore. We're a team now, we have to trust each other to watch our backs now."

Casey had never needed anyone. She had always worked alone, and this time, it would be no different. Angrily, she stood up from her seat.

"Listen, my back's perfectly fine. Maybe you should just concentrate on watching yours." she declared, before storming off.

_This is ridiculous._

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_Soshannah_

The darkness of the whole station unnerved her, although the nervousness on her face was concealed behind the opaque visor of her helmet. The engineer's fingers were wrapped tightly around her shotgun, ready to fire at any time. Her eyes darted from left to right, on the lookout for any movement.

Unlike the darkness she was used to back on Earth or on the Citadel, the station was literally pitch black. There was no moonlight, no lights from passing cars. This was a space station, surrounded by literally only source of light apart from the flashlights attached on their helmets and weapons, was the faint glow of Warren's tech armour. They had been walking and exploring Arcturus for almost two hours, but they haven't met a single soul. To make things worst, her Omni-tool had showed her that even the station's basic life support systems were offline, hence the need to keep the helmets on.

A sudden sound of metal scraping on the floor stopped them all in their tracks.

"Did you guys hear that?" Kane asked.

"Sorry, my bad... I kicked something." Bear said sheepishly.

_Idiot..._

Still, the Israeli beauty preferred the burly Scottish over Michael Quinn. After the vanguard had been done irritating the short and red-haired Nguyen, he had come over to harass _her_ instead.

It wasn't long after they started moving again before the same scraping sound was heard once more. Again, the squad of six stopped dead in their tracks.

"Bear!" Quinn exclaimed harshly. "What the heck are you doing?!"

"It's not me this time!" he denied.

"Then who-" Kane was cut off by yet another scraping sound. Immediately, all of them turned behind, guns raised.

The scraping sound continued, again and again. And then a low growl started to follow. What accompanied was horrifying and gruesome: a creature of barely humanoid form slowly walked towards them. Whatever the monster was, it was severely deformed, not even remotely resembling anything the engineer had ever seen before in her entire life. A sticky, slimy fluid was dripping off one of its limbs.

Without hesitation, Soshannah pulled the trigger twice, decapitating the abomination.

"_What the fuck was that? _" Quinn demanded.

Before anyone could answer, the growling they had just heard returned, this time louder and more frequent. It wasn't long before the squad found themselves surrounded by even more of the monsters.

"_Fuck, fuck, fuck!_ " the Irish-American cursed.

"What are you waiting for?!" Warren shouted as the monsters started to close in on them. "Open fire!"


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hope you guys like this so far :) I'd greatly appreciate a review, especially from those of you whose characters are currently in the story. What do you think about my portrayal of them? Is it authentic enough, like the way you imagined them, or do I need to improve on them?**

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Diving in.

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_Casey_

They just wouldn't stop coming, wave after wave. Casey felt a sharp pain in her head as she launched yet another singularity at a pair of approaching monsters. The ball of dark energy trapped them, causing them to float around it, locking others in as well. She collapsed onto the ground the ground. Her biotics were especially exhausting currently for some reason.

"Pull back, pull back!" she heard Warren bark.

_Come on, get up, Nguyen. You're not dying on this Hell of a station._

Weakly, she tried to push herself off the ground, but she fell back down even harder. The shuffling of footsteps behind her told the adept her squadmates were retreating quickly. Suddenly, a horrible, high-pitched shriek broke Casey out of her reverie. Her head turned up to find one of those abominations standing in front of her, deformed claw raised.

She tried to gather her biotics, but her hands wouldn't obey.

_Guess this is it._

Out of the blue, Casey's vision was blocked by a large block of bright orange. The monster's claw made a terrible _clank_ sound as it came into contact with the hologram, the wall of orange deflecting its strike.

She suddenly realised it was an Omni-shield. The biotic felt someone pull her up and off the floor. Although the station was still pitch black save for their flashlights, the glowing tech armour gave it away - _Warren._

"Come on, Casey! Off your feet!" he ordered. She managed to climb back to her feet, but she wasn't steady. She found the sentinel's right arm holding her in place, while his left was still raising the holographic shield.

Casey's eyes squinted as a burst of fire - a real, burning flame - appeared to her right. Only an accomplished engineer could perform such a feat in an airless environment - _Meron._

"Go! I've got you covered!"

The Israeli directed her fire-spewing Omni-tool at the incoming monsters, burning them when they got too near. The trio retreated in unison, Meron burning and Warren blocking, while Casey simply leaned on Warren for support, feet struggling to catch up with their pace.

The world began to spin around the Vietnamese-American. The bright, striking gunfire didn't help. It wasn't long before the adept found herself unconscious.

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_Warren_

They had finally lost those grotesque monsters off their tail. The squad had been running, with Eric resorting to simply carrying an unconscious Casey Nguyen on his shoulder. The group of six only stopped after deciding the coast was clear.

The sentinel set Nguyen on the floor. She was out cold.

"Where the Hell are we, anyway?" Quinn asked.

"We're almost in the middle of the station," Meron answered, staring at her Omni-tool. "but that also means we're in deep. I don't think it's a good idea to head back to the ship. Heck, I don't even think we can make it. Especially not with _her_ like that."

"But we can't just stay in our suits like that, right?" Charles said. "I'd say we get to the control room and try to turn the life-support systems back on. That way, at least we can take a breather."

"But who's gonna take care of her?" Meron asked, gesturing towards Nguyen.

"Leave her to me." Bear suddenly said. The gigantic soldier simply picked up the petite woman and slumped her over his shoulders. "She's light, I'm strong. I can carry her for as long as it takes."

"Alright then," Quinn quipped. "shall we get going, ladies?"

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_Quinn_

Michael had to admit, maybe the burly Scottish wasn't as useless after all. Despite his already immense weight with an additional person to boot, the giant's footsteps were as light as can be.

"Oh come on!" the vanguard complained. "What's taking you so long?"

"You wanna stop whining and try hacking this door?" Meron retorted. "It isn't as easy as it looks!"

Michael rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah? Then-"

"Shut up, both of you!" Warren interrupted harshly.

"Who-"

"_Quinn! _" Kane suddenly snapped. It was a warning from the infiltrator not to go any further.

The vanguard wanted to just ignore him and continue to challenge Warren, but he remembered his deal with Kane and ultimately decided to bite his tongue. "_Fine_." the biotic growled.

Nobody said anything after that. The pregnant silence was slightly offputting. Darkness and quiet didn't go well together, or maybe _too well_. Michael's eyes scanned the surroundings, although his field of vision was limited to the range of his flashlight. His fingers gripped tightly around his Eviscerator.

If any of those hideous creatures tried to sneak up on them, he would definitely burn them until they were as crispy as varren bacon. His incendiary ammo would make sure of that.

"Done!" Meron exclaimed. The holographic console on the door turned from orange to green, and then opened to reveal a rather spacious room with probably a hundred screens on the wall. It was empty. The female engineer immediately headed for one of the keyboards.

Bear approached an empty chair and set down a still-passed out Nguyen.

A loud hissing sound filled the room, or probably the entire station even. "Life-support systems are online." a computerized, female voice announced. One by one, they removed their helmets, and the headgear collapsed into small, rectangular blocks, about the size of a pack of poker cards.

_Oh, the wonders of modern technology._

Michael sucked in a deep breath. Air never smelled so good.

"Why are the lights not on?" Kane asked. It was then that the vanguard realised it, too.

_Aren't the lights supposed to turn on?_

"I don't know, they're not working. It's a station-wide blackout. The whole of Arcturus is in darkness, except for a few emergency lights and so on." Meron said.

"At least we've got the air now, that's the most important thing." Warren noted.

_Well ain't that a bummer,_ Michael thought sarcastically.

"Where am I?" the vanguard suddenly heard Casey Nguyen say. Michael turned around, flashlight shining on her.

Her short red hair was messy, eyes still struggling to open wide.

_God, she's pretty._

"Don't worry, we're safe for now." Warren assured. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," she said. "but-"

A suddenly loud growl interrupted the adept. A few more followed suit, and they were getting louder by the minute.

"Shit, they're coming!" Meron cursed. "They must've been alerted by the noise!"

"We're sitting ducks just standing here!" Michael exclaimed. "Let's go!"

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_Bear_

As the missile flew from his shoulder and right into yet another monster, Bear's Typhoon was pointed in another direction, unleashing a torrent of bullets at another nearing creature. The alien's body was glowing as the incendiary rounds burned its flesh.

"Move it! Faster!" he heard Warren order.

Finding another target, the newly reloaded missile on his shoulder launched again, this time completely obliterating two of those fiends.

"Up ahead! We can close them off there!" Meron shouted.

_Time to pick up the pace._

As he prepared to make a dash, the Scottish noticed Casey Nguyen slowing down. She was already at the back of the group. Any slower, and she would be dinner for those beasts. Despite the warnings from his mind, Bear ran to the adept and lifted her up.

"Come on, Bear! The doors' closing!" the engineer yelled again. She must have rewired the door's controls, as they started to roll down, threatening to shut them out with the monsters if he was too slow. With a burst of energy, the soldier made a mad dash, sliding down and rolling through the shutters, just before it completely closed.

"Good job, Bear." Warren said, offering a hand.

"Thanks." he replied, hauling himself up to his feet. The Scottish felt someone tap on his shoulder. It was Casey.

"Umm, thanks." she said awkwardly. The adept was evidently not used to being saved.

"Don't mention it, kid." Bear replied with a smile. "No one left behind, right?"

"Well, what do we do now?" asked the infiltrator, Charles.

"Find a place, rest, and get going again?" Bear kindly suggested.

"Well, no shit, Sherlock." Quinn said, obviously annoyed. The Irish-American obviously didn't like him very much, for reasons the Scottish currently didn't know.

"All I know, is that I've been trying to contact the SSV Chicago and Admiral Hackett ever since we reached the control room, but somehow our signals' jammed. I just can't get through."

"Maybe I can help with that."

There was a moment of frozen silence. The voice didn't belong to any of them. Less than a second later, Warren's back was turned, pointing his Vindicator and shouting at a foreign-looking human male. "Who the heck are you?!" the sentinel demanded. Soon, the rest of them were also raising their weapons.

"Relax, I'm not one of those necromorphs!" the man hurriedly declared. "I'm- _was,_ a scientist on this station! I mean no harm, I'm here to help!"

"What's your name?" Charles asked warily.

"_Isaac Clarke._"


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Aye, I'm back people. How's been that half-month? Missed me? Please say yes, because my fragile heart wouldn't be able to take it if you say otherwise. Lol. Anyway, let's get back to it. **

**After a terribly arduous 13 papers from sadistic professors from Cambridge, I have miraculously survived with my sanity intact, or mostly anyway. I still have two more papers to go before it ends, so yeah. The next chapter after this might be awhile, because I'll be flying back to visit my grandfather in Malaysia immediately after my last paper. He's going through his nth brain operation (I probably would've died from getting my head opened so many times, but he's a real 90-plus tough nut to crack), and I'll be there for about a week or so.**

**I'll keep you guys updated (if you're following me on twitter) and maybe I'll type out a few words during the flight, but let's just play it by ear for now and see how it goes.**

**And to all my dear readers living on the East Coast: Do take care of yourself! I might be living on the other side of the globe, literally (there's a 12-hour difference between Singapore and the East Coast), but my well wishes are with you guys! Stay safe!**

MDMDMDMDMDMDMDMDMDMDMD

New friends.

MDMDMDMDMDMDMDMDMDMDMD

_Warren_

The sentinel stared hard at the stranger. His salt-and-pepper hair was disheveled, chin covered by a fairly thick stubble. And then there was his very odd-looking suit, as well as a peculiar object in his hand.

"What's that you're holding?" he asked.

"Oh, this?" Clarke replied, raising the object for them to inspect. "It's a plasma cutter."

"_What?_ " Meron exclaimed harshly in disbelief. It was as if she was insulted by the plasma cutter, for reasons Eric did not know. "A plasma cutter? What are you planning to do, do surgery on those- those _things? _"

_Okay, she is pissed._

"The plasma cutter isn't as harmless as it looks," Clarke tried to explain. "It releases super heated bolts of-"

"_I know how it works, I'm an engineer_." Meron interrupted. "But have you lost your mind? Those are aliens, they don't even need oxygen to breathe! This can't even hurt them."

Clarke raised a curious eyebrow. "What aliens?"

Quinn was getting annoyed as well. "What do you _'what aliens'_ ? It's those monsters of course!"

The expression on Clarke's face turned from bewilderment, to one of realisation. Then it dawned on Eric that the man knew something they didn't, and the sentinel had a feeling he wouldn't want to hear what came out of Clarke's mouth next.

"They're not aliens," he said. "They're called necromorphs, and they're humans."

MDMDMDMDMDMDMDMDMDMDMD

_Quinn_

_What the Hell?_

Scratch that.

_What the fuck?_

"You've got to be fucking kidding, right?" Michael asked, but it probably sounded more like a demand. "Humans don't have eight limbs with claws, and they need oxygen!"

"Jesus..." Bear muttered. "What in God's name happened?"

"People on the station were exposed to some kind of alien tech," Clarke explained. "Some experiment-"

"And you didn't stop it?" Casey said in an accusatory tone.

"We didn't know," Clarke countered. "It was about some ancient artifact found back on Earth, Prothean origin or something, I don't know. It was top secret, and very few knew, until one day, one of the subjects escaped. A station-wide alert was announced, talking about some biohazard. It was all a mess, the systems started to shut down, people began to disappear, and more of these monsters started to appear."

"And how did you know they were human?" Michael asked warily. He still wasn't sure if they could fully trust the stranger. His story sounded genuine enough, but the vanguard also knew that what you believed in, or could believe, wasn't necessarily true.

"We were scrounging for a place to rest, to hide from those things. And then we-"

"Wait," Kane interrupted. "What do you mean by _'we'_ _?_ "

"Fellow survivors, just like me," Clarke said simply, as if it was supposed to be common knowledge.

"There's more of you?" the English asked.

"So far there's only been the three of us," Clarke said. "But if we could survive this long, I'd bet there are going to be others too that made it."

A scene from a horror vid Michael had just watched a few days prior flashed through his mind. He wondered if Clarke was one of those cannibals that pretended to offer help to refugees when in fact he was looking for more meat to butcher in some end-of-the-galaxy apocalypse thing.

_Nah,_ he concluded. _He doesn't look like one. _

"Have you heard news about the Prime Minister?" Warren asked. Michael thought it was wierd of the blonde to ask such a question, until he remembered that extracting the Prime Minister was supposed to be their goal. Surviving in a shithole like this was merely a secondary objective.

"No, like I said, everything went down in less than twenty-four hours. We were-"

Clarke stopped mid-sentence as a round suddenly came out of nowhere from behind and barely missed him, instead embedding itself in the severely deformed head of a necromorph. Kane stepped forward, and the vanguard could see the smoke coming from the barrel of the infiltrator's Mattock.

Clarke cursed. "Shit, they're coming."

_Well no shit, Sherlock._

"What do we do?" Meron asked, firing her Scimitar.

"Follow me," Clarke said, shooting with his plasma cutter. "I can bring you back to our hideout."

"Okay," Warren agreed. "Lead the way."

"No, wait." Michael quickly objected. "We're not even sure if we can trust him!"

"I don't know eiteher, Quinn," Warren said, taking down two more necromorphs with his Vindicator at the same time. "But I'd take my chances rather than being necromorph chow. You're welcome to stay here if you want."

The sentinel then started taking off after a running Clarke, and the rest followed suit.

_Ah, fuck it._

And the vanguard started running as well.

MDMDMDMDMDMDMDMDMDMDMD

_Casey_

"How much more to go?"

"Just a little bit more!" Clarke said. "Fuck, the door's jammed! I can't get it opened!" Clarke fiddled with the console, his fingers flying all over the keyboard, trying out every command he could think of, but it was clear that he couldn't crack it.

"Reloading!" Casey heard Meron shout. The engineer had her hands full, while Kane was busy lining up shots with his Mattock. Warren had switched to his Omni-shield and pistol, fending off approaching necromorphs from disturbing a struggling Clarke. There was no one left to help hack the door. Bear's missiles would have been useful, if only blasting the door didn't mean the whole of them being collateral damage as well.

"Hey, Half-pint! Think you can help me out here?" she found Clarke calling out to her.

There was only one way left, but Casey wasn't sure if she was up for it.

_Pull your socks up, Nguyen. You didn't go to Grissom just to fail your teammates here because you're weak._

Eyebrows furrowed, the biotic clenched her hands, concentrating dark blue energy in her fists. Waving her hands forward in one single fluid motion, the door blasted open, with residual biotic energy still flickering slightly in the air at where those steel doors once stood.

"Good job, Casey!" Warren said. "Now move!"


End file.
